Having spent most of the regular season showcasing a defense that shut down all kinds of quality opponents, it had to rattle the Baldwinsville boys soccer team a bit when it surrendered a trio of goals in its riveting Sept. 17 overtime defeat to Fayetteville-Manlius at Swan Pond.
But the defeat did not carry any long-term effects, as the Bees showed when it returned home to Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium last Tuesday night and returned to its normal mode, keeping the Northstars off the board as it won by a 2-0 margin.
This was the first time B’ville and C-NS had met since last November’s Section III Class AA final at Fulton, won by the Northstars. But C-NS had not shown the same great form early this season, going 4-3-1, including defeats to the likes of Henninger and Nottingham.
Sensing this opportunity, B’ville took control early in the match, starting with Brandon Mimas connecting on a goal in the 15th minute, assisted by Zach Bush. From there, the C-NS defense did shut the door for the rest of the half, only to find itself unable to do much against the Bees’ formidable back line.
B’ville gained an insurance goal when Stan Jensen, off another feed from Bush, converted less than five minutes into the second half. Try as it could, C-NS could not answer those goals, despite a series of chances as Bees goalie Donovan Moore made six saves.
And this led to Friday’s match against visiting Liverpool. The two sides had met Aug. 31, with B’ville prevailing 1-0 on a goal from Mimas less than 90 seconds into the game and the same formidable defense that would try to stymie the Warriors again.
Both things happened, with the Bees putting together, arguably, its best all-around game by meshing that resistance with a more potent attack that didn’t let up until it had buried Liverpool by a 4-0 margin.
Instead of a quick goal and a quiet aftermath, B’ville this time hurt Liverpool by finding the net three times in the first half, adding a late goal and then seeing its back line break up most of the Warriors’ runs, Moore only having to make five saves.
Mimas scored, but so did Bush, Jensen and Jason Hahn, and the depth didn’t stop there. Mike Brussel, Connor Carhart and Evan Smith joined Bush and Jensen in earning assists.
B’ville improved its overall record to 8-1-1, with all eight wins shutouts. The Bees would go to Henninger Monday before a Thursday-night visit from Corcoran to conclude the September portion of its schedule.
